This week, we are joined AGAIN by my friend Ashley, who is a mom to six kids! In this episode, we are wrapping up her story by walking through her last three birth experiences. Ashley shares how the precipitous, unmedicated delivery of her third baby (which we ended on last week) brought a lot of anxiety into the medicated delivery of her fourth. She also remarks on how different it felt going back to an epidural birth after having experienced an unmedicated birth. This ultimately influenced her to decide to have unmedicated home births with her fifth and sixth babies! It is amazing to hear how much more empowered and excited Ashley felt with her last two births in contrast with some of her other experiences.

It is seriously special to see how all six of her experiences come together to create a beautiful journey through motherhood. Ashley’s stories are truly a reminder that every birth is unique and transformative!

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:03:15 - 4th Child: Unsolicited Membrane Sweep, Processing Anxiety, & Choosing an Epidural

00:29:25 - 5th Child: Mentally Preparing, Working with a Midwife, + Mostly Unassisted Home Birth

01:04:05 - 6th Child: Overcoming Doubt & 1-Push Home Birth

01:23:38 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Ashley, a mom of six!! In this episode, we walk through her first three birth stories, and next week she’ll be back to share the final three. Ashley’s journey starts with two smooth pregnancies that resulted in almost identical deliveries (seriously—same birth weight and everything!). But her third baby threw her for a loop, from taking longer to conceive to a labor so fast she didn’t even have time to get an IV!

Each of Ashley’s experiences builds on the last, and I can’t wait for you to see how all six come together to form such a beautiful, resilient story of motherhood.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Ashley

00:13:19 - 1st Child: Smooth Pregnancy, 45 Minutes of Pushing, & Weaning From a Nipple Shield

00:38:08 - 2nd Child: Finishing School While Pregnant & Admitted at 8 cm Dilated for a Deja Vu Delivery

00:52:46 - 3rd Child: Slower Conception, Unintentionally Unmedicated, Out in 2 Pushes

This week, we’re talking about the stories YOU shared about the nicest things someone did for you postpartum. Y’all gave me all the insider secrets about what your postpartum friends ACTUALLY need. We talk about meal train etiquette, C-section postpartum hacks, and ways dads can help lighten the load.

This episode is packed with ideas and insights that I had never even considered before! Perfect for expectant parents to share with their support team, or for you, like me, who want to do more for your new mom friends, but don’t know where to start!

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

This week I’m joined by my new friend Katie, whose journey to motherhood has many twists and turns. Her story includes a hurricane that influenced her decision to discontinue her birth control (yes, really), a snafu between two medical offices that resulted in her missing 17 weeks' worth of OBGYN visits, and an unintentionally unmedicated birth after she missed the window of opportunity to get an epidural. Her son spent time in the NICU due to a tight umbilical cord around his neck during delivery, and Katie herself had to be readmitted to the hospital due to postpartum preeclampsia.

Through it all, Katie shares her experience with warmth and humor. Her story is a testament to the emotional and mental strength that you discover when there’s no way out but through.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Kaite

00:14:02 - Miscarriage

00:17:50 - Pregnancy: Anatomy Scan Scare, Medical Miscommunication, & Increased Monitoring

00:55:08 - Labor: Data-Motivated Progression & Going Unintentionally Unmedicated

01:18:46 - Postpartum: Umbilical Cord Issues, NICU Transfer, & Postpartum Preeclampsia

01:46:10 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Sydney, whose C-section incision site reopened a few days after birth. Her journey to motherhood also includes IUI fertility treatments, advocating for herself when signs of preeclampsia appeared in the third trimester, and an emergency, traumatic C-section that led to a blood transfusion. We also talk about the grief of unmet expectations, body image struggles, and how motherhood can be the ultimate invitation to slow down and be present.

Sydney’s episode is a beautiful example that sometimes our biggest battles can teach us the most about our own strength.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Sydney

00:07:32 - Pregnancy: IUI Success, Twins, & Preeclampsia Signs

00:35:19 - Labor: Magnesium Loopiness + Emergency C-Section

00:38:06 - Postpartum: Processing Grief & Disconnect, An Unhealed C-Section Incision, & Finding Purpose in Motherhood

01:11:56 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my amazing friend Meredith, who is a type 1 diabetic mom who breastfed three babies (one of them not even her own!) for over six months! What makes that even more incredible is that she once wasn’t sure if she’d be able to have children at all.

In this episode, Meredith opens up about how diabetes has shaped her motherhood journey, her difficult first delivery that led to her daughter’s dislocated shoulder, a NICU stay, and a fourth-degree tear (!!), and how her second birth, a planned C-section, brought a much more positive experience in contrast.

Meredith’s episode is a reminder that you are more capable than you think and that you are strong enough to feel scared but to do it anyway.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Meredith

00:11:18 - 1st Pregnancy: Slow Fertility, Wonderful Endocrinologist, & Big Baby

00:26:29 - 1st Labor: Spotty Epidural, 4th Degree Tear, & Dislocated Shoulder

00:38:03 - 1st Postpartum: NICU Stay & Breastfeeding Success

00:59:09 - 2nd Pregnancy: Struggling to Find Supportive Doctors

01:08:26 - 2nd Labor: Scheduled Positive C-Section

01:11:21 - 2nd Postpartum: Changes in Milk Production, Milk Sharing, & 2 Under 2 Haze

01:25:34 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Jessica, who pushed both of her babies out in only two pushes!! Her experiences include first-trimester nausea (particularly in the car), a negative reaction to IV pain medication, and pubic symphysis dysfunction, which was especially difficult because she’s a dancer. She also talks about her experience with a velcro baby who wouldn’t sleep without her, breastfeeding both of her kids at once, and dealing with anxious, intrusive thoughts.

Jessica’s episode is a beautiful example of standing firm in what you believe is right for you and your babies, even if it looks different from what you had originally planned.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Jessica

00:13:19 - 1st Pregnancy: Car Sickness & Hip Pain

00:31:58 - 1st Labor: Water Breaking, 12 Hour Labor, & A Finicky Epidural

00:38:42 - 1st Postpartum: Committing to Breastfeeding, Choosing to Co-sleep, & Intrusive Thoughts

00:50:21 - 2nd Pregnancy: Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction & Slightly Enlarged Baby Kidneys

01:02:26 - 2nd Labor: Negative Reaction to IV Meds & Side-lying Epidural

01:10:41 - 2nd Postpartum: Tandem Breastfeeding & Mental Health Help

01:20:16 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Katie, who thought she wanted a large family until she had a bumpy start to motherhood with her first. Her experiences include a long, difficult labor that resulted in a 3rd degree tear that took almost a year to recover from, and a baby who struggled to breastfeed and therefore struggled to sleep. Luckily, her second brought a better delivery and postpartum experience because of what she learned from her first.

Through all of this, Katie learned how to trust her own instincts and let go of advice that simply wasn’t helpful. If you’re trying to find your voice and learn to laugh at your mistakes, Katie’s episode is the one for you!

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00 - Meet Katie

07:29 - 1st Pregnancy: 6 Months of Trying + Weight Gain Comments

13:57 - 1st Labor: Broken Water, Lack of Sleep, & Almost 3 Hours of Pushing

18:49 - 1st Postpartum: 3rd Degree Tear, Breastfeeding Struggles, & Co-Sleeping

31:56 - 2nd Pregnancy: Positive Pregnancy + Mild Gender Disappointment

38:37 - 2nd Labor: Fainting Husband, Quick Labor, Out in 3 Pushes

41:58 - 2nd Postpartum: Learning from Last Time + Formula Supplementation

48:40 - To My Pre-Mom Self…